American Family Association Action (AFA Action), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to advancing biblical, family values in society and government by educating and influencing public policy. AFA Action is also the Governmental Affairs Affiliate of American Family Association (AFA).
CEO, President, & General Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)
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Kristen Waggoner has attacked the abuse of government power by woke authoritarians. She has written, “‘[d]iversity’ advocates are so committed to shutting down opposing views that they don’t limit themselves to cultural pressures to get their way. They also use federal courts to improperly redefine federal law to marginalize opposing views.”
Waggoner has argued that religious individuals do not lose their religious liberty upon entering the public square. Waggoner wrote, “the incredible legacy we have found in the First Amendment says that we get to speak our minds, that we don’t lose our Constitutional rights when we enter the public square, and that when we do speak our minds, it really doesn’t matter how much the government, or my neighbor, agrees with me.”
Waggoner has also argued against an increasingly secularist interpretation of the Constitution. In an article, Waggoner states that the Establishment Clause’s purpose is to “guarantee that the government will not interfere with religious practices.” At the same time, Waggoner states her strong disagreement with “interpret[ing] the Establishment Clause to mean a ban on public expressions of religion.”
Waggoner has defended religious liberty in many high-profile cases. For example, Waggoner was lead counsel for Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colo. Civil Rights Comm'n, a Christian baker who declined to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. The case was taken to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Phillips’ religious right not to provide services that celebrate activities in violation of his religious convictions.
Waggoner routinely expresses concern about preserving religious liberty. In an article for The Daily Signal, Waggoner was quoted as having said, “The right of conscience is critical to the existence of the country and is the first freedom that our other civil liberties are directly connected with. . . . I wanted to be a part of that—that fight to preserve it for my children and my grandchildren.”
Waggoner passionately denounced the pro-abortion policies of the pre-Dobbs United States. In 2018, Waggoner spoke in front of a group called “Evangelicals for Life,” and decried the United States’ liberal abortion policy, stating that, at the time, “The United States abortion law and policy is an extreme outlier among the nations of the world,” calling it “very alarming.”
After the Dobbs decision, Waggoner stated, “Fifty years of scientific progress and innovation establishes what the Bible has always taught: life begins at conception. Ultrasound technology allows expectant parents to see the truth of Psalm 139: children are fearfully and wonderfully made from the very beginning.”
Waggoner has supported a constitutional right to life for unborn children. In a 2024 interview with Politico, Waggoner was asked whether she thought the Dobbs decision was a satisfactory resolution to the issue of abortion, and specifically whether she shared the view of scholars Robert George and John Finnis that the 14th Amendment guarantees a right to life for preborn children. She answered in the affirmative, stating, “[w]e do share their interpretation of the 14th Amendment—very much so. We believe that the 14th Amendment protects persons and that includes unborn persons, and that the right to life is protected in the Constitution and in our founding document."
Waggoner echoed the concern of author J.K. Rowling that people may lose their jobs for disagreeing with “transgender” ideology. Waggoner wrote, “It is amazing that this has to be clarified: no one should lose his or her job for believing that men and boys are male and that women and girls are female. This is a biological fact; all the surgeries and hormones in the world cannot change the reality that every single cell of a man’s body is encoded with an X and a Y chromosome, and every single cell in a woman’s body is encoded with two X chromosomes. Biological sex cannot be changed.”
After YouTube removed a video of detransitioner Walt Heyer sharing his experience, Waggoner wrote an article about how harmful this viewpoint discrimination is for free speech and the harm it does to those suffering from the social contagion. She said, “The lives and health of countless individuals are on the line. The number of young people who claim to experience gender dysphoria has skyrocketed in the past decade, and yet some doctors encourage young people — even minors — to address their dysphoria with irreversible hormone treatments and surgeries. At the same time, a serious lack of transparency exists about the harms of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.”
Waggoner is a member of the largest evangelical Christian Pentecostal denomination, Assemblies of God.
Waggoner has defended a biblical worldview as a pathway out of contemporary social ills. She spoke about the threats to fundamental rights and freedoms faced around the globe, citing several cases in which people in western democracies were forced to choose between upholding their worldview or avoiding legal penalties. Waggoner claimed that, though these events are part of a larger trend of confusion, her audience should be hopeful encouraging that, “[w]hen we are facing a world that is looking at compromise, we offer the joy of conviction. In a moment where we’re grappling with what human dignity is, we offer a conviction and a vision of real life, of real equality, of real dignity, because we’re made in God’s image.”
Waggoner defended the National Rifle Association from authoritarian censorship. She explained how “a New York state official… actively pressured financial institutions to cut ties with the [NRA] using back-channel meetings, public investigations, and threats of fines.” Not only did Waggoner decry the authoritarian harassment, stating that it is “wrong and has no place in a free society,” she also recognized that “[s]adly, this is not an isolated incident.”
Waggoner firmly believes that parents ought to play a more significant role in their child’s education and development than schools. She wrote “Parenthood is more fundamental than allegiance to a community or state—it’s ‘pre-political.’” Waggoner says parental rights are “under sustained attack,” pointing to the “media firestorm over Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which affirms the commonsense notion that government-funded schools shouldn’t indoctrinate 5-year-olds about human sexuality.”
Waggoner has openly called for the dismantling of the administrative state. In her official ADF press release recognizing President Trump’s 2024 election victory, Waggoner appealed to the incoming administration to “fortify the rule of law and dismantle the administrative state, including taking action to protect the integrity of our judiciary.”
Waggoner has served as general counsel of ADF since 2013. Her first interaction with ADF was when the firm assisted her in preparing to defend Washington’s ban on same-sex marriage.
During COVID-19, Waggoner advocated for churches and opposed government overreach. In an interview, Wagoner said: “We would go to government officials and say hey, excuse me, there are certain limits to your authority here, um, let’s talk about what those limits are.” Regarding the government overreach against churches, she said “civil liberties travel together, so, this kind of unprecedented restriction that continues will I think cause even broader concerns and problems in our nation.”
Waggoner has defended the divine origin of First Amendment rights. She said, “Well, we have to go back to first principles. . . . [A]t ADF, one of the things we talk about is that our First Amendment rights aren’t just constitutionally guaranteed. They are actually God-given. They are inalienable rights. They’re apolitical. They weren’t created by the United States of America.”
*Citations are available in the downloadable PDF research document above.
Best meets the ten principles of a constitutional judge.
Rating: GreyNeutral. Record is not as fully developed. Cannot be rated as “green” or “red.”
Rating: RedFails to meet the ten principles of a constitutional judge.
AFA Action is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to advancing biblical, family values in society and government by educating and influencing public policy. AFA Action is also the Governmental Affairs Affiliate of American Family Association.